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Your journal for the Philippine mining, oil and gas and energy industriesThu, 14 Feb 2019 04:56:51 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.9Vires Energy pushes LNG power projecthttp://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/vires-energy-pushes-lng-power-project/
http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/vires-energy-pushes-lng-power-project/#respondThu, 14 Feb 2019 04:38:52 +0000http://philippine-resources.com/?p=1683Vires Energy Corp. is set to formalize its plan to put up a liquefied natural gas project in Batangas through the filing of a notice to proceed with the Department of Energy.

“Vires wrote that they will apply,” Energy Undersecretary Donato Marcos said. Vires earlier applied for a pre-application conference with the agency.

Marcos said the NTP application of First Gen Corp. and Excelerate Energy L.P., a US-based LNG company in The Woodlands, Texas, however, were still pending with DoE, Manila Standard reported.

Vires president Eduardo Mañalac earlier said the company was also in talks with possible partners. He declined to disclose details.

“There are many possible partners, but I will announce later on,” Mañalac said.

Vires plans to put up a 500-megawatt LNG power plant and LNG receiving terminal in Barangay Simlong, Batangas City.

Vires has received approval to conduct a grid impact study on the proposed LNG power project.

The company contracted Waller Marine Inc. of Houston, Texas in 2016 to produce the front end engineering design for a 400-megawatt floating power plant.

Vires signed technology license agreements with Sevan Marine’s subsidiary, HiLoad LNG AS, for an LNG receiving and re-gasification terminal in the Philippines.

It also signed a separate engineering service contract with HiLoad LNG that will provide design and engineering work. Payment under the license agreement is subject to Vires constructing and operating the re-gasification terminal.

Sevan Marine acquired the rights to the proprietary HiLoad technology for gas and LNG applications, and has developed solutions for offshore loading of LNG and LNG receiving and re-gasification terminals.

The biogas facilities aim to complement Dole Philippines’ existing operation by processing organic fruit waste from its Surallah and Polomolok facilities in South Cotabato and harnessing renewable energy in the form of biogas.

The planned biogas facilities will produce about 50,000 megawatt-hours of clean energy annually to be used by Dole Philippines for power generation and fossil fuel substitute.

Metro Pacific budget P1 billion for the project.

]]>http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/metro-pacific-poised-to-bag-p22-b-payatas-waste-to-energy-deal/feed/0China’s State Grid brings solar power to Zambales homeshttp://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/chinas-state-grid-brings-solar-power-to-zambales-homes/
http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/chinas-state-grid-brings-solar-power-to-zambales-homes/#respondThu, 14 Feb 2019 04:34:49 +0000http://philippine-resources.com/?p=1678State Grid Corporation of China, the technical partner of power grid operator National Grip Corp. of the Philippines, is spearheading efforts to provide solar power in Zambales that will benefit over 1,000 residents in the province.

The move came on the heels of Chinese President XI Jinping’s visit to the Philippines last year where he assured that China would continue to extend its support to the Philippines in various aspects of the business.

SGCC said that as part of improving relations between the two countries, it signed recently a memorandum of agreement with the National Electrification Administration and the Zambales II Electric Cooperative for a solar project, Manila Standard reported.

Under the MOA, SGCC’s Brighten Up project will involve the installation of a solar panel system which will be turned over to Zameco II. The system will generate 76 kilowatts, which is capable of delivering power to more than 1,000 residents, including two schools with 108 students.

Through the partnership, Huawei Philippines will also donate communications equipment, providing the communities with telecommunications network coverage.

SGCC will then provide computers and school supplies for the two educational institutions covered by the agreement.

Chinese Embassy commercial counselor Jin Yuan said during the signing ceremony for the project that with the successful visit of President Xi to the Philippines in November 2018, relationships between the two nations were pushed to a higher level.

Jin said SGCC’s project was a crucial step in solidifying the good relations between the two countries and was only the beginning of more ways in which China and the Philippines could build support and enhance cooperation.

SGCC is also currently the technical partner of NGCP, where it provides assistance to the country’s transmission grid through skills development of NGCP’s engineers and providing NGCP with the latest technologies in modern transmission grid operations.

SGCC said that together with NGCP, the company would be able to reach more communities and create more opportunities to its partners not only from Zameco II but to the entire country.

]]>http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/chinas-state-grid-brings-solar-power-to-zambales-homes/feed/0Angara to Senate: Pass ‘gold bill’ to boost PH foreign reserveshttp://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/angara-to-senate-pass-gold-bill-to-boost-ph-foreign-reserves/
http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/angara-to-senate-pass-gold-bill-to-boost-ph-foreign-reserves/#respondThu, 14 Feb 2019 04:28:24 +0000http://philippine-resources.com/?p=1675Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara pressed his colleagues to expedite the passage of the measure that seeks to boost the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) by granting tax exemptions to small-scale miners who would sell their gold to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

“I strongly urge the honorable members of the Philippine Senate to approve the passage of this ‘Gold Bill’ to ensure the strength of the country’s [GIR] and promote the Philippines’ greater monetary and external sector stability,” said Angara, chair of the Senate ways and means committee, in his recent sponsorship speech on Senate Bill No. 2127.

The bill seeks to amend Sections 32 and 151 of the National Internal Revenue Code to make the sale of gold from small-scale miners to the BSP exempt from income and excise taxes, Manila Bulletin reported.

The tax exemptions cover proceeds from “sale of gold to the BSP by registered small-scale miners” and “sale of gold by registered small-scale miners to accredited traders for eventual sale to the BSP.”

Angara said the measure is a “win-win” solution for both the BSP and small-scale miners.

The senator said passage of the bill into law would not only allow the BSP to shore up the country’s GIR which dropped to a seven-year low in October, but would also help support the development of the small-scale mining industry as envisioned by Republic Act 7076, or the People’s Small-Scale Mining Act of 1999.

“The proposed legislation would have the effect of assisting the BSP in the fulfillment of its mandate under its charter, returning to the formal sector the sale of gold from small-scale mining, and support the trade of small-scale miners as originally envisioned under RA 7076,” Angara said.

The GIR is the sum of all foreign currencies, including gold, held by the BSP. It serves as a buffer to ensure that the Philippines would not run out of foreign reserves that it could use to pay for imported goods and services, or maturing obligations in case of external shocks.

Earlier, Angara said the BSP reported that the country’s GIR level last October was $74.8 billion, the lowest since hitting $71.88 billion in July 2011.

Angara said the measure would enable the BSP to better build up the GIR by buying domestically produced gold from small-scale miners using pesos.

He said buying gold from the domestic market would boost the GIR as opposed to purchasing gold using dollars, which affects the money supply with potential inflationary effects.

“The bill also helps small-scale miners, who prefer to sell their gold to the BSP, which ensures that they would be able to receive a fair price for their gold, instead of selling the gold to the black market where prices are below market levels,” Angara said.

]]>http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/angara-to-senate-pass-gold-bill-to-boost-ph-foreign-reserves/feed/0Solon wants creation of strategic fuel reserveshttp://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/solon-wants-creation-of-strategic-fuel-reserves/
http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/solon-wants-creation-of-strategic-fuel-reserves/#respondThu, 14 Feb 2019 04:24:56 +0000http://philippine-resources.com/?p=1672A lawmaker at the House of Representatives on Wednesday reiterated his call for the establishment of a Philippine Strategic Fuel Reserves (PSFR) following President Rodrigo Duterte’s admission that he could not do anything about oil prices due to the country’s lack of fuel reserves.

In a statement, 1-PACMAN party-list Rep. Michael “Mikee” Romero said the creation of a national strategic fuel reserves would address the country’s lack of fuel reserves and at the same time “act as an anti-inflation measure when world oil prices spike.”

The House Assistant Majority Floor Leader, who is also an economist, said the creation of a PSFR was contained in House Resolution No. 1936 that he filed in May last year, the Philippine News Agency reported.

The resolution authorizes Duterte to draw the necessary amount from the Malampaya Fund to initially establish the PSFR.

It also asks the President to issue an Executive Order to create the PSFR; task the Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Energy (DOE) and the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) to set up and operate the PSFR using available, viable and secure storage facilities.

The resolution also urges the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to direct the oil firms to maintain their own fuel reserves at levels sufficient to meet between 45 to 60 days of daily consumer demand.

Meanwhile, Romero noted that a national strategic fuel reserve has long been an option that the DOE has had on its shelves to address energy crises.

For starters, he said the DOE can require oil firms to increase their mandatory minimum fuel buffer from current levels of 15 days to 30 days.

As an incentive for oil companies to increase their inventories, Romero proposed that stocks in the fuel reserves can be exempted from excise and value-added taxes.

“This would make maintaining those reserves financially viable and ultimately good for consumers because fuel from the reserves will be cheaper at the gas pump,” he said.

He added that the strategic fuel reserves idea has also been studied by the energy departments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries for some years now.

“The Philippines’ strategic reserves could be part of the ASEAN fuel reserves. If our reserves are not enough to meet domestic needs, we can withdraw from the ASEAN stocks. I hope the DOE will work hard to expedite the work done thus far on the fuel reserves plans,” Romero said.

In his speech Monday at the distribution of Certificates of Land Ownership Awards to farmers in Buluan, Maguindanao, the President pointed out that the Philippines could only rely on imported oil.

He said the Philippines has no “buffer” to deal with oil price hikes in the world market, pointing out that the country is not as blessed as Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia which have their own oil resources.

]]>http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/solon-wants-creation-of-strategic-fuel-reserves/feed/0Canadian miner hits record gold output at Masbate minehttp://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/canadian-miner-hits-record-gold-output-at-masbate-mine/
http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/canadian-miner-hits-record-gold-output-at-masbate-mine/#respondThu, 14 Feb 2019 04:16:07 +0000http://philippine-resources.com/?p=1669A mine site in Masbate has recorded its highest gold production of 216,498 ounces in 2018, driving the total global production of its foreign operator, B2Gold, into an all-time high.

B2Gold, a listed mining company based in Canada, said its Masbate mine has exceeded the upper limit of its upgraded guidance range of between 200,000 and 210,000 ounces in 2018.

For the fourth quarter of last year alone, Masbate mine produced 51,555 ounces of gold, 13 percent above original budget, Manila Bulletin reported.

The Masbate Gold Project (MGP) is located on Masbate Island in Bicol region.

Overall, B2Gold’s gold production in 2018 stood at an all-time high of 953,504 ounces, 51 percent higher than what it had in the previous year, a company disclosure to Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange showed.

In total, B2Gold recorded an annual consolidated gold revenue of $1.2 billion, a dramatic increase of 92 percent over what it had in 2017.

Right now, the company is currently expanding the operations of MGP, hoping to increase its mill output from 6.8 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) to 8 Mtpa.

This, according to the firm, will maintain its gold production at approximately 200,000 ounce per year during the mining phase and, on average, at a further 100,000 ounce per year when the low-grade stockpiles are processed at the end of the open-pit mine life.

B2Gold said the expansion will come on line early this year.

With improvements in its operation, B2Gold is also hoping to reduce its cash operation cost and all-in-sustaining costs (AISC) in MGP.

For full-year 2018, MGP’s cash operating costs are now expected to be at the low end of the reforecast guidance range of between $545 and $595 per ounce. Original guidance was pegged between $675 to $720 per ounce.

Its AISC are also expected to be at the low end of the reforecast guidance range of between $780 and $830 per ounce from original guidance of $875 to $925 per ounce.

B2Gold acquired the Masbate Mine through a merger with CGA Mining Limited in January 2013. The company now indirectly own the mine through 100 percent ownership of Philippine Gold Ltd., which owns 40 percent of Filminera Resources Corporation (FRC) and 100 percent of Philippine Gold Processing & Refining Corporation (PGPRC).

As of now, B2Gold Corp. hold an option to acquire the interest of Zoom and to determine a new Philippine holder of the interest, in accordance with Philippine law.

For this year, B2Gold forecasts gold production of between 935,000 and 975,000 ounces, with AISC estimated at between $835 and $875 per ounce.

The company also allotted a budget of US$43 million for “aggressive exploration” focused in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana.

]]>http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/canadian-miner-hits-record-gold-output-at-masbate-mine/feed/0MICC to audit mining sector anew by Marchhttp://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/micc-to-audit-mining-sector-anew-by-march/
http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/micc-to-audit-mining-sector-anew-by-march/#respondThu, 14 Feb 2019 04:12:11 +0000http://philippine-resources.com/?p=1666The inter-agency Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) is once again set to audit 14 mining areas nationwide between March and June this year.

This, as the government continues to address the impact of mining operations on the environment.

“We want the same teams, same scope, same teams, if they still want to,” Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin told journalists as Philippine News Agency reported.

Agabin said they aim to start the audit by March because it is hard to visit the mines during the rainy season.

Last year, the MICC sent several experts from the mining industry and academe to audit 26 firms, whose mining sites were earlier ordered closed by former Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez.

Agabin said this year’s audit will “essentially (be) the same but there are some improvements that we think can be done.”

The budget for this year’s audit is expected to be around the same as last year’s PHP25 million, but he stressed that this remains “subject to budget being approved” since the government is currently operating on re-enacted budget.

Agabin said the Department of Finance (DOF) contributed PHP15 million to fund last year’s audit while the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) contributed PHP10 million.

]]>http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/micc-to-audit-mining-sector-anew-by-march/feed/0SoCot nets P31-M in mining, quarry taxes in 2018http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/socot-nets-p31-m-in-mining-quarry-taxes-in-2018/
http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/socot-nets-p31-m-in-mining-quarry-taxes-in-2018/#respondThu, 14 Feb 2019 04:08:18 +0000http://philippine-resources.com/?p=1663GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The provincial government of South Cotabato recorded an “all-time high” of PHP31 million in mining and quarry tax revenues last year as the area’s small-scale mining industry continued to thrive.

Siegfried Flaviano, head of the Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO), said Monday the total collections in 2017 was higher by around 9 million when compared to the PHP21.6 million in the previous year.

Flaviano said the mining and quarry tax collection last year was the highest since the local government started implementing reforms on small-scale mining operations in 2010, the Philippine News Agency reported.

“It was also considered as among the biggest collections in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) for the period,” Flaviano said in a statement.

He said their average monthly collection in 2018 increased to PHP2.58 million from around PHP1.8 million in 2017.

With the increase in tax collection, the provincial government’s share has increased to nearly PHP12 million from PHP8.3 million in the previous year.

Flaviano attributed the increase in mining and quarry tax collections to the sustained monitoring on the operations of mine tunnels, processing plants, and transport of mineral ores in the area.

The official said they also implemented stricter regulations on mining operations, especially those based in the gold rush villages of Kematu and Desawo, in Tboli.

In November, South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes issued a recall order on all small-scale mining contracts temporarily issued since January.

Fuentes, the co-chair of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board, said the move was due to the non-compliance of local mining associations to the operational requirements set in the revised implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 7076 or the People’s Small Scale Mining Act.

“Despite the overwhelming challenges and changes in national policies, we were still able to improve compliance monitoring especially on the payment of taxes and fees from extractive industries,” Flaviano said.

Engr. Buisa started her “Faith Garden” on September 2018. Since then, it has grown into a mini-plantation bursting with all kinds of nutritious greens like malabar spinach, eggplant, corn, okra, cucumber, squash, and bottle gourd. It even has fruit species like lemon and grapes!

FAITH stands for “Food Always In The Home,” according to MMDC environmental manager by Engr. Angel Cao. Engr. Buisa added that FAITH also reflects MMDC’s effort to show that mined-out lands, if rehabilitated properly, can ensure food security for the community.

As a demonstration garden, Engr. Buisa says the vegetable plots aim to provide an educational platform for community stakeholders of the company’s comprehensive rehabilitation program and the possibilities that can be derived out of the mined-out areas.

“We want to show the potentials of a properly rehabilitated mined-out area to our community; that we are not merely returning the land to its former state, but we are making it productive for them to benefit later and even beyond the end of the mine life,” Engr. Buisa says.

The garden has yielded bountiful harvests, part of which were shared with the company’s commissary and some were given to personnel for their own consumption

MMDC’s rehabilitated areas are enriched by vermi-composts and biochar, a 2,000 year-old practice that converts agricultural waste to enhance soil quality and biodiversity.

As a long-term plan, MMDC has already set aside areas for rubber, coffee, cacao plantations, and even African palm oil plantations on rehabilitated mined-out areas.

]]>http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/faith-garden-in-marcventures-mines-rehab-area/feed/0Chamber of Mines renews call for crackdown on illegal small-scale mininghttp://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/chamber-of-mines-renews-call-for-crackdown-on-illegal-small-scale-mining/
http://philippine-resources.com/2019/02/14/chamber-of-mines-renews-call-for-crackdown-on-illegal-small-scale-mining/#respondThu, 14 Feb 2019 04:00:06 +0000http://philippine-resources.com/?p=1658The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) has again called on government to intensify its campaign against illegal small-scale mining (SSM) activities after reports that another landslide, this time caused by Tropical Depression Amang, resulted in the death of four and the disappearance of three small-scale miners in Mount Mahupaw, Agusan del Norte.

COMP believes that incidents like this can be avoided if SSM activities, including their safety practices and environmental performance, are closely monitored under the Minahang Bayan setup recognized by the government.

In the eyes of many, the largely illegal SSM operations with their safety and environmental problems are lumped together with the formal large-scale sector, which contributes to the poor image of the entire industry. These operations do not follow the same stringent safety and environment standards required of legitimate large-scale mining operators.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau estimates that more than 60% of the gold mined in the Philippines are from unregulated SSM operations. Apart from endangering the lives of poor mining workers and destroying the environment, illegal SSMs do not pay taxes.